As an adult, Uday was considered less stable and more violent than his brother Qusay, and despite his not inconsiderable power in Iraq, he was considered unlikely to succeed his father as leader of Iraq.

In May 2001, Saad Keis Naoman, an Iraqi soccer player who defected to Europe, reported that he and his teammates were beaten and humiliated at the order of Uday Saddam Hussein for poor performances. He was flogged until his back was bloody.

According to ESPN, Uday has athletes "beaten with iron bars. Caned on the soles of their feet. Chained to walls and left to stay in contorted positions for days. Dragged on pavement until their backs are bloody, then dunked in sewage to ensure the wounds become infected. If Uday stops by a player's jail cell, he might urinate on his bowed, shaven head."

A defector claimed that "Uday also killed his friendMuhammed Qaraghuli in a particularly brutal manner. He forced three bottles of gin down his throat by continuously beating him. Qaraghuli passed out. Uday then ordered that he be on a merry-go-round at an amusement park. Qaraghuli fell from it onto a metal stake that went through his head."

Former members of Saddam's Fedayeen, a security force led by Uday, report using torture tactics such as the severing of a tongue, fingers, hands, or ears; the penalty for lying was to drop 18-pound concrete blocks on the back of the accused; informers who gave inaccurate information had hot irons put in their mouths; army deserters had their ears sliced off. One Fedayeen member had his tongue cut off for repeating a comment someone else made comparing Uday's shiny clothes to women's garments, while another who disobeyed an order had his fingers cut off.

Former Fedayeen members also report carrying out frequent assassinations, and often delivered the head of the deceased to his family afterwards.

Uday has reportedly murdered at least half a dozen women and tortured countless others. When one woman complained about the abuse, Uday had her "stripped naked, covered in honey and killed by three starving Dobermans," according to Middle East Quarterly.

"The six-hour operation began when the division's Second Brigade Combat Team approached the house and received small-arms fire. The division subsequently employed multiple weapons systems to subdue the suspects, who had barricaded themselves inside the house and continued to resist detention fiercely.

"Four persons were killed during that operation and were removed from the building, and we have since confirmed that Uday and Qusay Hussein are among the dead. The site is currently being exploited.

"The coalition is committed to working with the citizens of Iraq to maintain a safe and secure environment for all of its people, and we will continue to strive for a better quality of life for all Iraqis in this country."

Subsequent news reports confirmed that Uday's remains had been identified both by physical identification and by analysis of dental records.